During transport of a vehicle (motorcycle, ATV, etc.) the forces incurred vary greatly, both in severity and direction, depending upon various factors. These include road conditions, driving habits, construction and condition of the transport mechanism and the user's understanding of the various methods of securing a vehicle for transport.
One of the known securing systems includes tying a motorcycle down with two separate ropes, one from each handle bar, which cause excessive wearing of motorcycle parts such as handle bar covering and gas tank paint. This method is also inherently difficult as it requires balancing the tension equally on the different tie downs.
Another system includes two interconnected straps with soft cuffs engaging the grips of the handle bar. This method reduces the damage to the handle bar covering and gas tank paint. However, the soft cuff design of the system allows handlebar grips to be exposed to a lateral pull that sometimes results in an inward “bunching” of the grips if the grips are not sufficiently glued to the throttle tube (on the right side) and handlebar (on the left side). In addition, under certain conditions this strapping system would contact with switch gear (horn, turn signal, and start buttons) causing unnecessary wearing of motorcycle parts.
Other tie down systems contain complex components that are difficult and expensive to install and are cumbersome to operate. In addition, many contain components that must be permanently affixed to the bed of a truck or transport vehicle/mechanism and adversely affect the use of the transport mechanism. Some also require an excessive amount of space in the transport vehicle for an operator to adjust and affix the tie down system whereas space is always at a premium in transport vehicles/mechanisms.
The anchoring system disclosed herein provides solutions to problems inherent in the related art.